WWE finally began to drop hints as to who their newest Superstar, former UFC Champion Ronda Rousey, will be facing at WrestleMania 34.
Just before signing her WWE contract at the Elimination Chamber even in Las Vegas, Rousey caught wind from Monday Night Raw General Manager Kurt Angle that Stephanie McMahon and Triple H were looking to humiliate her at the upcoming WrestleMania event. This led to Rousey slamming Triple H through a table and sending McMahon cowering towards the back. But before she left, McMahon got in a slap right across Rousey’s face.
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YES STEPH TRUE RIDE OR DIE pic.twitter.com/0CdMbY2FxD
— WrestlinGifs (@WrestlinGifs) February 26, 2018
Now while most strikes in professional wrestling are only made to look real, McMahon’s slap was reportedly completely legitimate, so much so that Rousey had a big mark on her cheek afterwards according to ESPN reporter Romona Shelburne/
Btw. That was a legit slap by Stephanie McMahon. Heard from some folks backstage that Ronda Rousey has a handprint welt on her face 👀
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) February 26, 2018
Shelburne, who broke the original story that Rousey had signed a multi-year deal with the WWE right as she debuted at the Royal Rumble in January, wrote “Btw. That was a legit slap by Stephanie McMahon. Heard from some folks backstage that Ronda Rousey has a handprint welt on her face.”
There’s no word yet if Rousey asked for McMahon to throw a legitimate slap or if it simply caught Rousey by surprise. Either way, the former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion quickly regained her composure and stared down McMahon, who quickly scurried out of the ring.
McMahon said on the follow-up episode of Raw Talk that she and Triple H plan to speak to both Rousey and Kurt Angle on Monday’s edition of Monday Night Raw.
If you’re worried about what’s next for @RondaRousey and #TheAuthority… don’t worry! @StephMcMahon says everything is going to be “just fine.” #RawTalk pic.twitter.com/daDsvKy7le
— WWE (@WWE) February 26, 2018
Rumors of a mixed tag match between Rousey and a male partner against Triple H and McMahon have been spreading ever since she arrived at the Royal Rumble. And now that Angle has inserted himself into the feud (which also pays off the dangling thread of Triple H backstabbing him at Survivor Series that was never addressed afterwards), it looks like the match is set for WrestleMania, joining a card that already features Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns squaring off for the WWE Universal Championship.
WrestleMania 34 takes place on April 8 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.
